


Zoey

by yuletide_archivist



Category: Las Vegas (TV 2003)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2004-12-21
Updated: 2004-12-21
Packaged: 2018-01-25 07:53:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,407
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1639961
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yuletide_archivist/pseuds/yuletide_archivist
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Story by Megan</p><p>Meaningless Fluff. (I'm so sorry) Danny recalls his childhood with Mary to get her the perfect xmas gift.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Zoey

**Author's Note:**

> Written for Abby

 

 

~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~

[I]"Danny McCoy, when I catch you, I'm going to clean your clock!"

The words are pretty grand for a petite 8-year-old girl, but Mary Connell means them nonetheless. She  
hates it when he runs off without her.

"Would you shut up?" he calls back from somewhere ahead of her in the span of dessert outside his  
dad's house. "You'll scare it away!"

Indignant at his reproach, she yells even louder, "And what do you think your shouting is going to do?"

Silence.

She tries again, "Scare what away?"

"Come see for yourself," his voice is hoarse, as of he's trying to yell as quietly as possible.

She follows his suggestion and runs up to where he's standing behind a pile of rocks. Then, much to  
his obvious annoyance, squeals with delight.

"Oh Danny, he's so cute!"

But the stray dog flinches at her declaration, presumably because her voice is so loud. The poor thing  
cowers against the rocks, shying away from the two curious children staring at him.

Mary is sorry that she scared him, but she couldn't help herself; he really is quite cute. Still just a  
puppy, his golden yellow fur looks impossibly soft and his big brown eyes tug at her heart. But he's too  
skinny, she notes, he needs to be fed.

"I think he's lost," Danny tells her somberly.

"He must be hungry," she replies, "Poor little guy. Let's take care of him."

Reaching into her jumper pocket, she comes up with a cookie she was saving for later and extends it  
towards the little stray.

"Come on sweetie," she coaxes in a soft voice, slowly approaching him. "I won't hurt you, I  
promise."[/I]

~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~

Danny once heard his father say that Mary Connell was the sort who was too good for a place like Las  
Vegas.

Even at the age of 9, he'd understood perfectly what the elder McCoy had been talking about. It was  
obvious to anybody who knew Mary well that her kindness, compassion, and just all around decency  
were her defining characteristics. In a city where beautiful women were a dime a dozen, a soft heart  
made her stand out in a way her long legs, voluptuous curves, and dazzling smile never could.

Which was why it came as no surprise to Danny to learn that she would be spending Christmas Day  
volunteering at one of the local homeless shelters.

... Okay, so maybe he was a little surprised, but only because this being their first Christmas as an  
actual, bona fide, engaged couple he'd expected they'd spend the big day together. He didn't think  
he'd be required to make reservations to celebrate the holiday with the woman he loved.

She'd been appropriately remorseful when he'd said as much, but still couldn't back out of her prior  
commitments.

"There are people out there who'll need me on Christmas more than you do," she'd explained.

"Now that's just impossible," he had replied with his most charming grin and she rewarded the  
statement with a kiss.

But his charm wasn't enough to change her mind, and she stood her ground with the declaration that  
when Mary Connell said she was going do something, she did it. Especially when it involved helping the  
less fortunate. As it turned out her planned act of charity wasn't in fact limited to the holidays. She  
actually donated copious amounts of time every month. At least once a week.

Why didn't he, who knew all there was to know about the lovely Ms. Connell, know this?

"Because it's tacky to go around talking about all the charity work you do," she'd informed him, "I  
don't do it for acknowledgement or praise; I do it because I have to."

Only she would consider volunteering as something she had to do, but then that was just one of the  
many things he loved about her.

Okay, they wouldn't be spending Christmas Day together, he could accept that - it was just a day after  
all. Sure it was an accepted practice for people to do the whole traditional Holiday thing on the 25th,  
but that didn't mean they had to go with the status quo this year. They'd have their own "Christmas"  
on the 24th, it was decided and at least that way, they'd still be together at midnight to begin the holy  
day together.

Of course, once it was settled she'd had to go and say one thing that sent him into a panic. Oh sure,  
she'd uttered it in a teasing tone of voice, and grinned mischievously, but that soon became irrelevant.  
She'd said it and that was all that mattered in his mind.

"Get me something good," she'd said.

That was it.

But... what exactly was good enough for a woman who went out of her way to help others, who had  
the longest fuse on the planet, who would pull out all the stops just to make somebody, even a  
stranger, smile?

Last year, before he'd realized he wanted to spend the rest of his life with her, buying her a gift hadn't  
been a problem. But now... now, whatever he decided to give her had to be special. It had to  
communicate how much he loved her, and reflect exactly why he felt that way.

Was there anything out there that could actually meet such a tall order? Two weeks of brainstorming  
had Danny deciding that no, in fact, there was not.

Then he met Zoey...

~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~

It was bright and early on Christmas Eve when Mary found herself having a Lady and the Tramp  
moment.

Standing on her doorstep with his beautiful, charming grin Danny came bearing gifts. A bow-clad  
puppy to be exact, much like the little "Lady" from the children's movie she was reminded of, except  
this gorgeous creature was a Lab.

Her fur was the color of midnight, so dark it appeared to have an indigo tint in the sunlight, and her  
large brown eyes were innocent and sweet.

"So this is what love at first sight feels like," Mary cooed at the adorable little creature before looking  
up at the man she'd fallen for on a less accelerated schedule. "Who is this?"

"This is your Christmas present," he happily informed her, "her name is Zoey."

"Hi Zoey," Mary accepted the bundle from her fianc's arms and held her close.

The puppy snuggled against her immediately, and her heart melted.

"Danny McCoy," she beamed up at him. "How on earth did you know?"

"I remembered Casey."

Casey. The yellow lab the two of them found one day when they were kids, and befriended. They'd  
only been able to keep him for a week before Mr. McCoy found the owners, but Mary recalled it now as  
one of her fondest childhood memories. She cried on Danny's shoulder the day they had to return him.

"She's perfect," she told Danny holding up her new puppy now, years later and laughed when its little  
pink tongue darted out to lick her face.

"I'm glad you like her," he said, "Although I have to say I knew you would."

"How could I not?"

"And that's why I love you." Now her heart was melting for entirely different reasons. "You could never  
turn away a stray. Exactly how big is that heart of yours anyway?"

"I..." Mary was speechless. For somebody who was uncomfortable talking about his feelings and  
uttering the "L" word, he'd just managed to do it all in one breath. With amusement she decided it had  
to be a Christmas Miracle.

"It was a rhetorical question," he assured her when she failed to reply.

"I love you too," she said finally.

He saw in her, things she hadn't even known mattered to anybody, and loved her for them. He'd  
remembered Casey and how much he'd meant to her, and went out of his way to bring that joy back  
into her life. He was looking at her in a way she never saw him look at anybody before, and she knew  
he was really hers.

So she smiled up at him and adjusted the beautiful puppy in her arms before grabbing him by the  
collar with her free hand and dragging him down to kiss her. His lips were perfect, his mouth  
wonderfully familiar, and his arms were wrapping around her in the most comforting way.

Zoey fit between them, small, sweet, perfectly content, and it felt like they were a family.

~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~

 

 

 


End file.
